Farewell to Fall (*sob*)

Fall isn’t really over until December 21– and a large part of me has never understood why we insist on curtailing this season of orange and gold in favor of green and red. It’s especially hard for me to say goodbye to the squash. But they do start to rot if you don’t do something with them–especially if you grew them in San Diego and planted them all on May 1.

Many of our favorite pumpkin and squash varieties (like tomatoes and chiles) are descended from American natives. I’ve always loved the idea of doing a native foods Thanksgiving–but getting it together to do the whole meal has eluded me so far. This year my nod to the concept is the squash. I tried growing Botanical Interest’s “Lakota Squash” this year, which is a Sioux heirloom variety. It didn’t grow very big, so I will be diluting it with some butternut squash as well. But I’m excited to try out the flavor. Planning to make “pureed squash with sage from Jack Bishop’s “Vegetables Every Day.”

Before cooking, I took a last few pictures of my favorite fruit of the season…

One Comment

Mmmm, squash. Wonderful winter squash recipe, sort of like a squash quiche, is in the first Moosewood Cookbook, called “Chilean Squash”. Bake squash, cool, mash up and mix it up with beaten eggs and sauteed onions, garlic, peppers, and some corn and spices. Bake again.